Livni to meet top US official on Iran

US Treasury's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence Levey will also meet with senior Mossad officials.

livni in turkey 298.88 (photo credit: AP)
livni in turkey 298.88
(photo credit: AP)
A senior US official who oversees efforts to clamp down financially on Iran was slated Sunday to hold talks with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, a spokesman said. The meeting between Stuart Levey, the US Treasury's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, and Livni is the latest in Israeli and US coordination on how to intensify sanctions against Iran in an effort to get it to abandon its nuclear program, Israeli media reported Sunday. Livni's spokesman, Mark Regev, would only say that the two would meet Sunday on "matters of mutual concern." In addition to Livni, Levey will meet with senior officials in the Mossad secret service agency, the National Security Council and the Atomic Energy Commission, Israel Radio said. Iran has refused to implement a UN Security Council resolution, adopted Dec. 23, that demanded suspension of its uranium enrichment program. The resolution imposed sanctions on Iran and warned that it would adopt further nonmilitary sanctions if Iran should refuse to comply. Iran insists that its nuclear aspirations are meant for its energy program, not the production of weapons. Levey has lead efforts to freeze the financial assets of companies and organizations whose activities are deemed by the United States as hostile. Most recently, Levey lead the US move to prohibit US businesses, including banks, from working with three Iranian companies suspected of having connections with Tehran's nuclear program. Levey operates under an executive order issued by US President George W. Bush in June 2005 that aims to financially punish those suspected of helping spread weapons of mass destruction.